The world's largest and most respected music print publisher, Hal Leonard Corporation is publishing publish vocal selections for Memphis and The Toxic Avenger, two highly acclaimed new musicals from the songwriting team of Joe DiPietro and David Bryan. Both titles are due off press for the Summer NAMM convention, held June 18-20 in Nashville.
Lyricist/librettist Joe DiPietro is a Broadway vet whose shows (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change; All Shook Up; The Thing About Men; Over the River and Through the Woods) have had thousands of productions across the country and around the world. Grammy-winning keyboardist David Bryan (music/lyrics) is a founding member of Bon Jovi. The quality and creativity of their collaborations have earned them honors and raves from critics.
Memphis, the show that's currently blowing the roof off Broadway, opened to critical acclaim on October 19, 2009 at the Shubert Theatre. The Associated Press calls it "the very essence of what a Broadway show should be!" Set in the smoky halls and underground clubs of the segregated 1950s, Memphis tells the story of a young white DJ named Huey Calhoun (played by Chad Kimball) who fell in love with everything he shouldn't: rock ‘n roll and an electrifying black singer (played by Montego Glover). Memphis is an original story about the cultural revolution that erupted when his vision met her voice, and the music changed forever.
The Hal Leonard Memphis songbook (HL00313503, ISBN 1-4234-9497-0, $16.99) offers piano/vocal arrangements of 15 outstanding numbers from this Tony Award-contender: Underground • The Music of My Soul • Ain't Nothin' but a Kiss • Make Me Stronger • Colored Women • Someday • She's My Sister • Radio • Say a Prayer • Big Love • Love Will Stand When All Else Falls • Stand Up • Change Don't Come Easy • Memphis Lives in Me • Steal Your Rock ‘n Roll.
Homage to the duo's native state, DiPietro & Bryan's first collaboration is based on the classic cult film. The Toxic Avenger is set in the mythical town of Tromaville, NJ and tells of a scientist whom radioactive goo turns into a mutant freak - and New Jersey's first superhero. Armed with superhuman strength and a huge heart, he's out to save Jersey, end global warming, and woo the town's pretty, blind librarian. Hailed as "hilariously funny" by the New York Post and a "four-star rock & roll romp" by Time Out, the rock musical won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical and is currently nominated for four prestigious Lucille Lortel Awards, including Best Off-Broadway Musical.
The Toxic Avenger vocal selections folio from Hal Leonard (HL00313502, ISBN 1-4234-9483-0, $16.99) features 13 terrific tunes: Who Will Save New Jersey? • Jersey Girl • My Big French Boyfriend • Thank God She's Blind • Big Green Freak • Choose Me, Oprah! • Hot Toxic Love • The Legend of the Toxic Avenger • Evil Is Hot • Bitch/Slut/Liar/Whore • You Tore My Heart Out • All Men Are Freaks • A Brand New Day in New Jersey.
Comments DiPietro, "We are elated to be working with Hal Leonard. They've published three songbooks for my other shows, and they've always done a fantastic job. The producers of Memphis and The Toxic Avenger have been getting lots of requests for songbooks, and we're thrilled to make these songs available to fans all over the world."
Jeff Schroedl, VP of pop & standard publications for Hal Leonard, says, "DiPietro & Bryan represent the new wave of Broadway songwriting. The music from these shows is brilliantly crafted, with spectacular songs that stand very well on their own outside of the productions. More great collaborations are certainly in store from these guys."
Both piano/vocal songbooks feature the melody line in the piano part. For more information or to place an order for Memphis, The Toxic Avenger, or other musical titles from Hal Leonard, please visit your local music retailer or contact Music Dispatch (www.musicdispatch.com / 1-800-637-2852).
Joe DiPietro is the author of the musical comedy hit I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, the longest running musical revue in off-Broadway history, with productions staged in over 400 cities around the world (including a Mandarin Chinese version which debuted in Beijing in June 2007). Other credits include: the Broadway musical comedy All Shook Up; the award-winning off-Broadway musical The Thing About Men, and the international comedy hit, Over the River and Through the Woods. His newest play, Creating Claire, is debuting at George Street Playhouse this fall.
David Bryan (http://davidbryan.com) is the keyboardist for and a founding member of Bon Jovi. The band has sold 130+ million albums to date, and continues to perform around the world. He has won a Grammy and several American Music Awards for his work with the band. David is a board member for Only Make Believe, a non-profit organization that provides theatrical workshops free of charge to children living with chronic illnesses and disabilities, and Music For All, which secures funding for school music programs across the country. He is a national spokesperson for VH1's Save The Music Program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education in America's public schools by restoring music education programs in cities across the U.S. and raising awareness of the importance of music participation for our nation's youth. David is a proud lifelong resident of New Jersey.
For more information about Memphis, visit www.MemphisTheMusical.com.
For more information about The Toxic Avenger, visit www.TheToxicAvengerMusical.com.
Founded in 1947, Hal Leonard Corporation (www.halleonard.com) is the world's largest music print publisher, producing songbooks, sheet music, educational publications, reference books, DVDs, CD-ROMs, children's music products and more. In its more than 200,000 available publications, the company represents in print some of the world's best known and most respected publishers, artists, songwriters and arrangers. Hal Leonard is headquartered in Milwaukee, WI and also has domestic offices in Winona, MN; New York; and Nashville; and offices abroad in Australia, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
